Wardrobe Malfunction

As a parent, I set forth rules and guidelines all the time. Most of the time, they're practical and intended to reduce the amount of work I have to do around here. "Shoes off on the rug at the door," for example, or "No indoor sandbox in the living room." Sometimes they're helpful hints, as in the case of "The tag goes in back," as it relates to donning shirts, pants, and underwear.

The problem with that one is that it doesn't always work. Take the cords big brother is wearing to preschool today as an illustration. These, for whatever reason, have a tag sewn into the seam of the front pocket. So when our little man dressed himself this morning (this is a major thrust of ours at the moment), his back pockets became his front pockets.

"We need to turn your pants around, bud," I said as he approached me. (I thought he was walking backward at first.)

"NO!" he said. "The tag is in the back!"

"He's right," Daddy said over my shoulder. "We've already had this discussion."

Well. When is a rule not a rule, and how does one explain this?

"Honey, some pants have the tag in front," I said matter-of-factly. "This pair is one of them."

"NO!" he said again. "This is how they go."

My next tack was, well, tacky. "I don't want the other kids at preschool to tease you because your pants are on backward." Good one, Mom. Way to teach a four-year-old to be self-conscious about what other four-year-olds think about his clothing.

He either didn't hear me or chose to ignore me, of which I was glad. As soon as the words had passed my lips, I wished I hadn't uttered them.

Then I thought, 'In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter if I let him go to school with his pants on backward? Even if the kids tease him, isn't it better to just let him do what he's convinced is right?'

So that's what I did. We'll see how it turns out.